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Press release
01.12.2005
Today the christening and launching ceremony of the new cruise ferry of Tallink took place in Finland. The vessel, which is going to service passengers on the route Tallinn-Helsinki from spring 2006, was given the name Galaxy.
The godmother of the cruise ship is the daughter of member of the board of Tallink Group Kalev Järvelill, Ms. Johanna-Iisebel Järvelill.
Galaxy will be one of the largest cruise ferries in the Baltic Sea, having capacity for 2,800 passengers. The ship will have 927 cabins, several restaurants, and places to entertain of various styles and class as well as a remarkable conference centre with over 450 seats. The guiding principle of designing Galaxy was to engage the comfort and luxury of present-day passengers also through maximal use of high-tech solutions onboard. The vessel has also 1,130 lane metres, i.e. over a kilometre of vehicle deck space and special space for freight units.
The building contract between Tallink Group and Aker Yards, worth 165 million Euros, was signed in October 2004. In spring 2006 Galaxy will start regular cruises between Helsinki and Tallinn. After that the cruise ferry Romantika, also delivered by Aker Finnyards in spring 2002, will start operating between Stockholm and Tallinn together with the sister ship Victoria, built in Rauma in 2004.
Galaxy has a length of 212 metres, a beam of 29 metres and a gross tonnage of 48,300. Four diesel engines totalling 26,240 kW will provide the ship with service speed of 22 knots. It has the highest ice-class 1 A Super and the catalytic reduction units installed for better control of exhaust emissions will make the vessel most environmentally friendly.
AS Tallink Group is on of the leading passenger and goods conveyance companies in Baltic Sea region. Tallink is a clear market leader in passenger and freight transportation on shipping routes Tallinn-Helsinki as well as Tallinn-Stockholm. During last financial year Tallink´s volume of trading was 218 MEUR, 3.2 million passengers transported. Under the Tallink brand twelve vessels are operated, of which all are owned by the company. Since May 2004 Tallink also operates a 350-room hotel in the city centre of Tallinn.
Additional information:
Peter Roose
Investor Relations Manager
AS Tallink Grupp
tel.: + 372 6 409 800
www.tallink.com
Yrjö Julin
President
Aker Finnyards
tel.: + 358 40 751 7940
www.akerfinnyards.com
An artist´s impression of the vessel can be found at:
www.akerfinnyards.com - Newsroom - Image bank - Ferries |